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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24466411">Spider Webs Always Face North</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_ryn/pseuds/Neko_ryn'>Neko_ryn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band), WAYV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Luck, Johnny has a bit of a breakdown, Love Confessions, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Multi, Swearing, slight self deprecation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,423</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24466411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_ryn/pseuds/Neko_ryn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Johnny is angry at life and decides to go backpacking in Canada to clear his mind. In the trip, he loses his map and becomes lost. Kun and Ten find him and decide to help him, despite the fact that Johnny can see there's something going on between them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny/Qian Kun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>NCT OT3 Mood Board Fic Fest</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Spider Webs Always Face North</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my entry for moodboard 23 of the NCT OT3 Mood Board Fic Fest! It was a lot of fun to write this and it makes me really happy to have finally finished it! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and please read the end notes!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Friday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Coming to Canada had been a great idea. It had been a spontaneous decision, but somehow, seeing the scenery in front of him as he moved through the trek, Johnny felt like it had been the right decision. He had needed to get away from his suffocating life in Korea, and after this short trip he was even planning to visit his parents in Chicago and reunite with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The treks in Canada were very different to those he had taken in Korea. There was nothing but the road vaguely paved by those who had walked it before him and the occasional sign telling him where everything was. Johnny appreciated the change, the freedom to just move, however he wanted and let his instincts (and map, he wasn’t stupid) guide him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had started the trip a little later than planned, because he had gotten lost on his way to the start of the trail. Johnny remained optimistic though, and he trusted his long legs and good pace to make up for the lost time and find a good place to camp before nightfall. He had experience camping and backpacking, of course, but he hadn’t done it properly in a long time, it almost felt like a whole new experience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a couple of hours of moving forward, Johnny reached into his backpack to check the map. His hand came up with nothing. He rummaged the bag absentmindedly for a moment until it dawned on him that the map just wasn’t there. Johnny took a deep breath before taking off his backpack and crouching. He checked every single zipper meticulously, even going through them several times, but it was to no avail. He had lost the map.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Groaning, Johnny stood up and picked up his backpack. The sun was starting to set, and he was pretty sure there was still some way to go before he covered the distance he had planned for. Johnny wasn’t entirely sure where to head next. It had been a while since he had seen the last sign, and he wasn’t anywhere near the coast yet to orient himself. He did have one trick up his sleeve, however: one time, Johnny had read that cobwebs always face north, he just needed to find one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He went a little deeper into the foliage, paying special attention to the base of the trunks to try to find a cobweb. He was so deep in his thoughts, that by the time he found one, he had completely lost sight of the trek. If Johnny wasn’t lost before, he was now. His heart sunk in his chest as he looked around frantically, but it was mostly just useless trees and rocks, all looking identical to each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dammit,” he groaned. His hands tousled his hair frantically as he tried to think of a solution. “Dammit!” He yelled this time, startling even himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was certainly not his year. Everything had been going steadily downhill since the beginning of it and getting lost in the middle of a foreign country was the last drop. He didn’t need this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Deep breaths, Johnny, let’s not lose our head here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He paced around for a moment, blinking his eyes quickly and trying to convince himself that crying would not solve anything. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It sure would make me feel better though.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” A soft voice asked behind him. Johnny screamed bloody murder and turned around, holding his shirt tightly, right above his chest. “Woah, I'm sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In front of him was a short, lean man with short hair, looking at him with concern. Johnny let go of his shirt and just sunk to the floor (which wasn’t a great idea considering how muddy it was), covering his face with both hands. The stranger approached him cautiously, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for scaring you...” The man whispered, clearly at a loss for what to say. “Wha- Are you crying?” He asked in shock, feeling Johnny shoulders shake under his touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ten! Is everything alright?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Another voice joined. It came from further away and sounded slightly concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny broke down crying louder in response, to which the man, apparently named Ten, was not ready for. Ten forced Johnny to stand up, fussing around in mild panic, and pulled him by the hand towards his friend, who was waiting back on the track (which wasn’t even that far away from where Johnny had thought himself lost, he really was just that pathetic).</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Who is this?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The new stranger asked upon their arrival, frowning at the weird image of Ten trying to console a man a head taller than him. Johnny vaguely registered that he was speaking in something other than English.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Uh... A friend?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Ten shrugged, still holding Johnny’s hand firmly as the giant looked down at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometime later, Johnny had finally managed to calm down and had ended up agreeing to camp close to the two friends. While setting up the tents, he had learned their names were Kun and Ten, from China and Thailand respectively. Ten spoke English, but Kun didn’t. However, they were also traveling from Korea, and both spoke the language well enough that they had no problem making small talk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of them pressed Johnny about his crying, and he felt so grateful he didn’t question it and just let the topic die in silence. Crying and being led by the hand were enough embarrassment without him oversharing. Instead, Johnny ate his dinner in silence and then helped them hang the food on a tree so animals wouldn’t try to steal it. That night, Johnny dreamt of rain and the warmth of a hand holding his.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Saturday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were wondering if you would like to do the trail with us.” Ten told him the next morning. Johnny just sort of stared at him for a second, eyes wide and lips parted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sporting terrible bed hair as he peeked through the door of his tent just enough to speak with Ten (except Ten was doing most of the talking). Behind him, Kun was already preparing breakfast for both of them; it seemed like they had taken the task of bringing the food down, and Johnny felt indebted once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand if you would prefer to go on by yourself, but well...” Ten gestured towards the trees, and Johnny knew what he meant even without him saying anything. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You had a very intense breakdown in the woods, and we would feel bad if we left you to die. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That was probably what Ten was thinking, and he had the right to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I would like the company, actually.” Johnny nodded, one hand hurrying to press his hair down. “But won’t I be an inconvenience? You two seem...” He had wanted to say busy, but that wouldn’t be the right word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Well...” Ten looked back at Kun, who was busy with the food, and blushed slightly. “Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thing was, that Johnny had sort of noticed it since the previous night. There seemed to be something going on between Ten and Kun, but he didn’t know just </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>that something was (and by the looks of it, neither did them). Still, they both seemed genuinely worried about his state of mind, and frankly Johnny didn’t think he would make it out alive of that trek if he continued by himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay...” he nodded. “I’ll go with you, thank you.” He mustered the sincerest smile he could to Ten, who stared at for a few seconds before smiling back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon they were back on track and walking through the dense foliage of the Canadian forests. Despite the breakdown of the previous day, or maybe because of it, Johnny felt more clear headed. The realization came to him that he hadn't really allowed himself to let out all of what he had accumulated through the endless months back in Korea. It wouldn’t be right to say he felt perfect, but at least the weight had lessened a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kun and Ten were walking a little ahead from him when Kun gave a soft squeeze to Ten’s hand and fell back to start walking next to Johnny, offering him a granola bar with a smile. Johnny accepted it with a quiet thank you and started munching on it as Kun opened one for himself. They were both very kind, and Johnny felt kind of bad about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry about-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay after-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both began at the same time and stopped in their tracks to look at each other before breaking in an awkward laugh. Ten stopped to look back at them with a questioning gaze before shrugging and continuing. Kun gestured for Johnny to speak first as they began to walk again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry about ruining your trip.” Johnny said, munching quietly on the bar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not ruining anything,” Kun shrugged. “You needed help, and we offered it to you, that’s all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a little while, Kun was next to Ten again and Johnny settled with observing them as they went up and down stairs and climbed tall boulders. The pair was interesting, to say the least. There was a strange tension to them that Johnny was trying to decipher, but it didn’t seem like they knew what to make of it either. It really felt like Johnny shouldn’t be there, intruding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was during lunch time that they had a little more time to talk, since they weren’t trying to keep their breathing steady or any of them from face planting on the slippery floor. Johnny found out that Kun was a vocal instructor and Chinese mentor for an entertainment company while Ten formed part of a dance crew. Johnny felt only a little bad when he gave them a vague answer about his profession; it wasn’t nearly as interesting as what they did, and it certainly wasn’t worth mentioning it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were interesting, to say the least, but Johnny liked them. It was easy to be with them, because they didn’t know him, and they couldn’t judge him beyond what they knew about him (that he was a total klutz that got lost on foreign forests and cried about it), and they didn’t know much. Of course, he loved his friends back in Korea, and he wasn’t planning on never returning. He just needed space.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Sunday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>On Sunday, they get to see the beach early in the morning, when the tide is down. It’s pretty and it brings a sort of unfamiliar peace to Johnny’s heart, he was only then realizing how truly stressful the last few months had been. They stayed for a little while at the beach, enjoying the scenery and talking to other backpackers that were also there to enjoy the calm brought by the waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was, perhaps, the calmest Johnny had felt in months, and he was grateful when Kun and Ten gave him space to just take everything in. Johnny liked his life in Korea, of course. He had a lot of good friends, and he wasn’t exactly unhappy. But the last few months had been disaster after disaster and eventually he had decided to flee, too beat down and scared to even consider it twice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right now, though, seeing the waves break on the shore, eased the weight of guilt off his chest. This was the clearest Johnny’s mind had been in a while, and he liked the feeling. Taking one last deep breath, he gathered himself and joined Kun and Ten, who were making small talk with a lovely couple. They quickly bid farewell and made their way back to the embrace of the trees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trek was peaceful, and they mostly walked in line or in a sort of awkward triangle when they wanted to engage in conversation. It felt easy to be like this, and Johnny almost wished this could last forever. Except he also appreciated being able to take regular showers. As they walked, a fairly wide creek cut their path, and they needed to cross it. Johnny decided to go first, wanting to test the few boulders placed in the middle along with planks as a made up bridge. He made it halfway unharmed when he accidentally tuned in to the conversation of the two behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you talking about Johnny?” Kun questioned, and Johnny guessed the conversation wasn’t meant for him because he could immediately hear Ten telling him to quiet down. Johnny sort of stopped walking, leaning back a little to hear better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I am, and he’s going to hear your loud voice if you don’t cut that out.” Ten grumbled, covering Kun’s mouth. There’s a few seconds of silence before disaster ensues.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you think Johnny is cute?” Kun said with a very loud voice, clearly intended for Johnny to hear it, and whatever complaints Ten musters after went unheard when Johnny’s slip produced a big splashing sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kun and Ten both rushed to help him, but it was clearly too late as Johnny sat up, part of his sleeves and the back of his pants completely wet. A good thing his backpack was waterproof. Ten breaks into an easy laugh as Kun tries to check on him, but Johnny felt completely stunned. Ten thought he was cute, and Kun wasn’t mad about it, somehow.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Monday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we should set our tents here today.” Kun stopped in a clearing just big enough for them to fit comfortably. “It’s starting to get dark and it looks like it’s going to rain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ten and Johnny silently agreed as they put down their backpacks and started to unpack. Just as they were finishing, the first drops of rain started to fall. The three of them quickly hurried inside and said goodbye. As Johnny prepared his dinner, he began to worry about how cold it would get with the rain picking up and wondered how it would be to share a tent with someone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought quickly vanished when he noticed water leaking into his tent. This, of course, was not supposed to happen, as he had made sure to buy a rainproof tent because he had checked the forecast. He muttered a few curses, which quickly escalated to yelling as he tried to cover the leak and keep it from ruining everything inside. It wasn’t working as he would have liked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Johnny! Is everything alright?” Ten asked from the other tent. His voice was muffled due to the rain, but Johnny managed to make out the words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My tent has a leak!” He yelled back, as he searched for something bigger than his cup to contain the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The silence that followed was so long that Johnny was certain they were just trying to ignore the situation. He couldn’t blame them. So far Johnny had caused nothing but problems to them, and somehow, he only kept getting into worse situations each time. He wouldn’t want to share a tent with himself if he were them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to come to our tent?” Kun asked. His voice was a bit lower, so it was hard for Johnny to convince himself that he had actually been given the offer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Are you sure?” He stuttered, hands clutching to his sleeping bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just get yourself here already,” Ten interrupted, “before the rain gets worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny scrambled to pick up his sleeping bag and backpack. He left a bowl and his cup under the leak and prayed they wouldn’t overflow as he raced over to Kun and Ten’s tent, who were already waiting for him. Johnny was considerably big, and with the three of them in there, the tent felt quite small and cozy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They arranged themselves so Ten lay in the middle since he was the smallest. Johnny prepared and ate his dinner in silence as the other two had a hushed conversation in Chinese. Johnny was quite surprised at Ten’s ability for languages, and also a little envious. After what he had heard yesterday, he kind of wanted to know what they were talking about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite that, he finished his meal and prepared to sleep in complete silence. Kun turned the lamp they were using off, and they all lay there, just listening to the rain falling. Eventually, Johnny couldn’t hold it back and began apologizing. God, he was so annoying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really sorry about this…” He muttered, worried, maybe they had already gone to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be.” Kun replied quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, can we ask you a question?” Ten asked, turning ever so slightly to face him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just did.” Johnny immediately bit the inside of his cheek after saying that. He should stop trying to be funny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you cry when I found you?” Ten’s voice was clear and gentle. There was no judgment or teasing in it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Johnny’s throat felt dry. “I'm running away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you a wanted criminal?” Kun asked comically fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No!” Johnny exclaimed, sitting up. “No, of course not. I’m not running away from the police. I’m just running away from my life.” He sighed, that sounded way more pathetic than running away from the police. “I recently broke up with my partners, and then I was fired. Things were just too much.” Ten hummed empathetically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the reason you were crying?” Ten repeated his question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, most of it-“ Johnny stumbled over his words, trying to make sense of himself. “I had recently lost my map before you found me, and I read somewhere that spider webs always face north, so I was trying to orient myself, but I completely forgot where the main trek was.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spider webs face south though, for the most part.” Kun mumbled softly, almost like he didn’t want to be heard. Johnny groaned and covered his face. Ten just sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you two? Why are you here?” Johnny asked, curiosity taking the best from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Ten hesitated, playing with his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re trying to see where our relationship stands.” Kun replied, straightforward. Ten immediately turned around to hit him on the chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Johnny nodded. That made a lot of sense. “Well, I think you two would look good together.” This only made what he had heard even more complicated. Especially because he had been certain that Kun had only said it so loudly because he wanted Johnny to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think so?” Ten wondered, except this time his voice was full of something Johnny couldn’t decipher.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I do.” Johnny lay back down as he replied, preparing himself to sleep, pushing other thoughts away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he woke up, Johnny decided to ignore the way Ten and Kun had curled up together and got out before they noticed him looking. Needless to say, cleaning his tent was a hassle.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Tuesday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rain is the absolute worst in places like this.” Ten complained for the hundredth time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rain had brought humidity with it and mosquitoes were everywhere. Ten hadn’t stopped complaining since they had started walking that day, speaking out what all of them were feeling. Kun had insisted he stopped at first, but even he had ended up agreeing that it was very annoying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides that, the floor was incredibly slippery. Johnny couldn’t count the amount of times they had almost slipped in the mud, one of those times almost ending in tragedy when Ten held onto his hand and nearly brought him down. Ten’s hand had been so small yet firm in his, and it reminded him of when Ten had found him, wandering alone in the forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those thoughts brought him back to the night spent in the pair’s tent. Johnny had been too nervous to successfully fall asleep, he was too self-conscious. There had been two very attractive, very successful men sleeping next to him who were also trying to solve their relationship, and yet they kept bringing Johnny with them. Why? It was probably out of pity. Johnny had demonstrated that he was a very unlucky man. Were they using him as an excuse to not solve their relationship? That would be quite mean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny was so distracted by his thoughts that he completely missed the round rock he stepped on. Like it had been resting on butter, the rock slipped and Johnny with it. He barely had the time to scream before he was sliding down a small slope, his legs gathering mud and leaves from everywhere. Ten and Kun yelled after him, but he couldn’t look back until the slope flattened, and he finally came to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart was beating so hard he couldn’t hear anything above it. Johnny felt a pair of hands grabbing his arms and helping him as they felt around to make sure he was alright. Ten grabbed his face and pulled him down a little so they were making eye contact, successfully getting him to refocus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Ten asked. Johnny nodded softly, face blushing as he realized just how close the other was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carefully, Johnny pulled Ten’s hands away and turned around to stop Kun, who was still looking over him trying to see if he had injured himself. It took a bit of convincing for them to believe he was alright, but eventually they dropped it. Looking around, they notice the place is full of small, colorful flowers. There’s a stream close to them and the sound of water running helps him calm down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This place is quite pretty.” Kun murmurs, and the other two agree with a thoughtful hum. “I think we should take a little break here to replenish our energies.” He suggests, walking forward to approach the stream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go.” Ten says, grabbing Johnny’s hand and pulling him forward to follow Kun. Maybe Ten just had a thing for grabbing people by the hand.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Wednesday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>They were setting up their tents when Johnny looked at the sky and exclaimed in surprise. It was the clearest it had been since the trip started, and it was full of beautifully bright stars. He quickly finished up his tent before grabbing his sleeping bag and making his way to a clear patch of land.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Come see the stars with me!” He called the other two as he lay on top of his sleeping bag, hands propped under his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, Ten and Kun had also brought out their sleeping bags and had settled to Johnny’s right. None of them knew anything about actual stars or constellations, so they played around with the patterns, making their own. Eventually, silence fell on them and before long, Johnny had fallen asleep, breathing slowing down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Poor him, he must be exhausted.” Kun commented with a small smile, looking down at Johnny before looking back at the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kun.” Ten called, and when Kun looked back, his breath caught in his throat. Ten was looking at him with such intensity that it made him want to look away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Kun replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Date me.” Ten held Kun’s gaze for about five seconds before he was looking away, his ears burning red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To whom do I owe this bit of bravery?” Kun chuckled. Ten pushed him away softly, groaning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up and say yes, so we can move past my embarrassment.” Ten muttered, bringing his legs towards his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Kun smiled gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait- Really?” Ten turned around quickly, and Kun wondered how he didn’t get whiplash from moving so fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just told me to say yes, why are you so surprised?” Kun chuckled again, softly grabbing Ten’s cheeks. “Can I kiss you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ten nodded, and Kun joined their lips in a soft and chaste kiss, still holding the other’s cheeks. They broke off when Johnny snored a bit loudly, thinking maybe he had woken up. But when they looked at him, he was still fast asleep. Ten snickered, pecking Kun’s lips softly before turning to look at Johnny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s cute, I wanna keep him.” Ten chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, right after we start dating?” Kun gasped, dramatically bringing a hand to his chest. “I’m offended.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have basically been dating for three years.” Ten huffed, rolling his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“True, you were just too much of a coward,” Kun teased, earning himself a little punch on the arm. “He is cute, but I think we should give him some space. He said he just broke up with his partners and is trying to take time for himself.” Ten pouted, but nodded nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right.” Ten sighed. “I would still like to keep in contact with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s ask him about it tomorrow when we get to the ferry.” Kun suggested as he gently shook Johnny awake. “Johnny, go sleep in your tent before you catch a cold.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just five minutes more…” Johnny whispered, rolling to his side to continue sleeping.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Thursday</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“We made it!” Johnny yelled, raising his arms in victory as the tree line cleared to reveal a pretty beach and a port, with a ferry waiting to take people back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was still relatively early in the afternoon when they boarded the ferry and started their way home. Johnny felt a lot more refreshed than when he had started the trip. He still wasn’t completely free of worries, but his head was clear, and he knew this was a start to rebuilding his life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know Johnny, we would like to keep in contact with you.” Kun mentioned as they rode on the ferry, enjoying the view. “Will you be going back to Korea after this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet, no.” Johnny shook his head. “I’m going to make a stop in Chicago to visit my parents first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then, can you give us your number?” Ten asked, already pulling out his phone. Johnny complied and registered it for him, he also wanted to keep in contact. “You know, we would like to </span>
  <em>
    <span>meet</span>
  </em>
  <span> with you, when you get back to Korea, if you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean, meet as in…?” Johnny looked at their expectant eyes and comprehension downed on him. He blushed slightly and nodded. “Yeah, sure, I would like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later that day, when Johnny was on his way to an hotel to spend the night and buy his flight tickets, he got a text message from Ten. He would never admit to them about how much he had blushed after reading the message, but at least Korea didn’t seem like such a bad place to return to now.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you enjoyed this work, remember to leave a comment and give kudos, it keeps me going! And don’t hesitate to talk to me through my social media and consider leaving a donation as it would really help me out right now!<br/><a href="http://not-majestic-bluenicorn.tumblr.com">Tumblr</a><br/><a href="http://www.twitter.com/soft_bluenicorn">Twitter</a><br/><a href="https://ko-fi.com/soft_bluenicorn">Ko-fi</a><br/><a href="http://curiouscat.me/soft_bluenicorn">CuriousCat</a><br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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